VITAL LIVING

Your body needs a healthy diet to function at its best. If you
have or had cancer, it is even more important. A healthy diet
allows you to go into treatment with the reserves needed to help
keep up your strength, prevent body tissue from breaking down and
to rebuild tissue. Supporting your immune system will help to
maintain your defenses against infection. During cancer treatment
your body often needs extra calories and protein to help you
maintain your weight and heal as quickly as possible.
Assisting people with nutrition counseling during a time in
their lives when they are facing dramatic health challenges is both
challenging and rewarding. Although nutrition guidance can vary
greatly, there are some generalizations, I have found, that apply
to most. Please be sure to check with your doctor for any food or
diet restrictions or before beginning an exercise program.
• Choose a plant-based diet. Try substituting dried beans and
peas for meat at a few meals each week. A plant-based diet is high
in dietary fiber, which is necessary for health and is naturally
low in unhealthy fat.
• Eat at least 5 servings a day of vegetables and fruits,
including dark green vegetables, leafy greens, and deep-yellow
vegetables. Colorful vegetables and fruits contain natural
health-promoting substances called phytochemicals.
• Limit high-fat foods, especially those from animal sources.
Reduce the amount of fat in your meals by choosing a lower-fat
cooking method such as baking or broiling. Increase the Omega-3
fatty acids in your diet. Sources are raw walnuts, flax seeds and
oil and cold-water fish.
• Eat small, nutritious snacks throughout the day. Keep a
variety of protein-rich snacks on hand that are easy to prepare and
eat. These can include a bowl of hearty soup, nuts and seeds, a
hard-boiled egg or perhaps yogurt.
• Don’t be afraid to try new foods. Some things you may never
have liked before may taste good to you during treatment.
• Limit the amount of salt-cured, smoked, and pickled foods that
you eat.
Sugar has a sweet tooth:  The biggest tip is to
refrain from eating sugar. Nobel Laureate Otto Warburg (The Warburg
effect) noted that many different types of cancers get their energy
by using high levels of the sugar glucose. Simple sugars enter the
bloodstream quickly and cause a rise in insulin and other
growth-promoting hormones. Research shows that high levels of these
hormones may increase the growth of cancer cells. Complex
carbohydrates such as non-starchy vegetables and whole grains and
beans, do not affect insulin the same as simple sugars and studies
have shown that they actually reduce the risk of some types of
cancer. Sugar also depresses the immune system. Remember that
alcohol is, in essence, sugar, so limit or eliminate alcohol from
your diet. Sodas should also be reduced or eliminated for the same
reason. ‘Diet’ sodas contain unhealthy sugar substitutes; so do not
consume those.
Immune Support: Nutrition, stress reduction,
support groups, and exercise may strengthen the immune system.
Studies find that women in breast cancer support groups live longer
than those who don’t join such groups. Researchers speculate that
one reason is the stress-reducing, immune-supporting effects that
these groups provide. Researchers have noted the positive effects
of moderate amounts of exercise on the immune system. Exercise also
improves one’s mood and the ability to handle stress.
High levels of stress hormones, like adrenaline, suppress the
immune system and reduce the body’s ability to defend or repair
itself. That’s why many cancer centers and hospitals have begun
offering stress reduction therapy along with traditional cancer
treatments. Meditation, visualization, yoga, and other relaxation
techniques may help bolster your immune system and assist in
fighting the effects of the cancer.
From the people I assist in their quest to regain their health;
I have gained a healthy perspective and limitless inspiration.
Patty James, M.S., C.N.C.
Vital Health Educator and Nutrition Coach
www.pattyjames.com •
707-829-6707
Founder of the nation’s first certified organic cooking
school and nutrition center.